As the US Food and Drug Administration considers allowing the sale of
genetically engineered salmon for human consumption, opposition organized by
the Center for Food Safety, Natural Resources Defense Council and others is
growing.
The national non-profit public interest and environmental advocacy
organization said April 30 that more than 1.8 million people have sent the FDA
comments vehemently opposing approval of GE salmon.
“The GE salmon has no socially redeeming value,” said Andrew Kimbrell,
executive director for the Center. “It’s bad for the consumer, bad for the
environment, and bad for our native salmon.”
Twelve senators, led by Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, and 21 members of
the House of Representatives, led by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, have asked the
FDA to halt its approval until their economic, regulatory and environmental
concerns are addressed. Also on the record in opposition to GE salmon are more
than 250 businesses, individuals, public interest groups and fisheries
organizations, including the Alaska Trollers Association, Bristol Bay Regional
Seafood Development Association, and the Alaska Marine Conservation Council.
Officials with the Center for Food Safety said supermarket chains with
more than 2,500 stores across the country have committed not to sell GE
seafood, should it come to market, and that 260 chefs have signed on to a letter
by Chefs Collaborative objecting to the transgenic fish.
Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at Consumers Union, said the decision
on this fish is precedent setting, and that a full environmental impact
statement, including a failure-mode analysis that looks at the possibility of
fish escapes, must be performed.